Index: Series on the Rich Man and Beggar Lazarus allusion in Hamlet (and context)

In February, 2021, I started a new series exploring the allusion by the ghost in Hamlet to how he thinks the poison made his skin "lazarlike with vile and loathsome crust, / All my smooth body" (1.5.757-8). This refers to how the beggar Lazarus had sores all over his skin, licked by dogs. This tale is found in Luke 16:19-31, read every First Sunday After Trinity Sunday, and also three times a year as the second lesson for Morning prayer.  It was assumed that Lazarus had leprosy, so lepers in England they were often called "lazars," and "lazar houses" were places where they were cared for.

The word "beg" or some form of it is associated most often with Hamlet or spoken by him about himself, and Horatio's words, asking angels to sing Hamlet to his rest, are a translation of the Latin words from the Requiem Mass about the beggar Lazarus, welcomed into heaven.

Ophelia is like a beggar to her brother and father, hoping for approval of the attention the prince has paid to her, but disappointed. Ophelia later says "the owl was a baker's daughter," a reference to a folktale that seems a retelling of the gospel tale, with a baker who is rich in dough and bread, and a baker's daughter, and instead of a beggar named Lazarus, the folktale features an unnamed beggar at the door, toward whom the daughter is repeatedly ungenerous. Ophelia may be searching her conscience, considering that when she obeyed her father in turning Hamlet away, she may have been like the baker's daughter, rejecting the beggar who turned out (in the folktale) to be Jesus in disguise. 

In Shakespeare's time or earlier, the tale was often painted, used in engravings for Bible illustrations, depicted on wall paintings in home dining rooms or entryways, and even carved into stone on the exterior.  of Lincoln Cathedral. So it was familar, and it was also mentioned in official homilies.

Below is an INDEX of posts in the series, and below that, other earlier and later related posts:

PRELUDE:
THE GHOST OF LAZARUS HAUNTS HAMLET - January 08, 2018:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-ghost-of-lazarus-haunts-hamlet.html

SERIES:

1. New Series: Lazarus & Dives (the Rich Man) in Hamlet (Part 1) - February 16, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/02/new-series-on-rich-man-lazarus.html

2. If the Ghost was like the Rich Man, who was his Lazarus? (Part 2) - February 23, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/02/if-ghost-was-like-rich-man-who-was-his.html

3. Illegal to be Beggar Lazarus in Shakespeare's England (Part 3) - March 02, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/03/illegal-to-be-beggar-lazarus-in.html

4. Beggars and Players' Ill Report: Polonius Measuring, Being Measured (Part 4) (Updated) - March 09, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/03/beggars-players-ill-report-poloius.html

5. Sleuthing Biblical Contexts of Lazarus Echoes in Hamlet (Part 5) - March 16, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/03/sleuthing-biblical-contexts-of-lazarus.html

6. Ophelia in 1.3 as the Beggar Lazarus (part 6) - March 23, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/03/ophelia-in-13-as-beggar-lazarus-part-6.html

7. Beggars, Thieves, & Cranmer’s Conflations (Lazarus in Hamlet, Part 7) - March 30, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/03/beggars-thieves-cranmers-conflations.html

8. Welcome Lazarus & Lord Strange's Men (Lazarus in Hamlet, Part 8) - April 06, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/04/welcome-lazarus-lord-stranges-men-for.html

9. Hamlet & the Beggar-Thief-Rioter-Revolutionary Continuum (Part 9) - April 13, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/04/lazarus-beggar-thief-rioter.html

10. Lazarus & other Hamlet-correlations in Cranmer's Homily IX (part 10) - April 20, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/04/lazarus-other-hamlet-correlations-in.html

11. Owl & Beggar Lazarus at Baker's Door in Hamlet 4.5 (part 11) - April 27, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-begggar-lazarus-at-bakers-door-in.html

12. Jewell's Homily V & Lazarus-Hamlet-Claudius Correlations (part 12) - May 04, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/05/jewells-homily-v-lazarus-hamlet.html

13. Beggars and Rich Men at Ophelia's Grave (part 13) - May 18, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/05/beggars-and-rich-men-at-ophelias-grave.html

14. Hamlet Nunnery Scene Haunted by Homily VI, Book 2, & Lazarus (part 14) - May 25, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/05/hamlet-nunnery-scene-haunted-by-homily.html

15. Hamlet, beggar-prince: Horatio's allusion to Lazarus and requiem Mass in 5.2 (part 15) - June 01, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/06/horatio-alludes-to-requiem-mass-lazarus.html

16. Monarchs & Outstretched Heroes as Beggars’ Shadows: Lazarus in Hamlet 2.2 (part 16) - June 08, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/06/monarchs-as-beggars-shadows-lazarus-in.html

17. Where's the body? Kings, Beggars, Worms, Excrement, Eucharist, Buddha Bunny, and Lazarus in Hamlet 4.3 (part 17) - June 15, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/06/kings-beggars-worms-excrement-eucharist.html

18. In service of art: How visual arts may have influenced the Lazarus theme in Hamlet - part 18 - June 22, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/06/in-service-of-art-how-art-may-have.html

RELATED POSTS FROM AFTER THIS SERIES:

19. Preview: Other instances of Lazarus/lazar/beg/beggar/poor in Shakespeare - July 13, 2021
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/07/preview-other-instances-of.html

20. Lazarus & prodigals in Henry IV, Part I, & Hamlet - July 20, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/07/lazarus-prodigals-in-henry-iv-part-i.html

21. Other instances of "lazar" in Shakespeare besides Hamlet - July 27, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/07/other-instances-of-lazar-in-shakespeare.html

22. Beg/beggar/begging/poor in "Two Gentlemen of Verona," 1589-91 - August 03, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/08/begbeggarbeggingpoor-in-two-gentlemen.html

23. Begging and poor in "The Taming of the Shrew," 1590-91 - August 10, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/08/begging-and-poor-in-taming-of-shrew.html

24. Begging and Poor in 1 Henry VI, 1591-92 - August 17, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/08/begging-and-poor-in-1-henry-vi-1591-92.html

25. Begging & Poor, Eve, & the Protestant-Catholic Context for 2 Henry VI - August 31, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/08/begging-poor-eve-protestant-catholic.html

26. Begging and Poor in 3 Henry VI (1591) - September 07, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/09/begging-and-poor-in-3-henry-vi-1591.html

27. Begging & Poor, Dust & Stones in Titus Andronicus (1593) - September 14, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/09/begging-poor-dust-stones-in-titus.html

28. Begging and Poor in Richard III (1592–1593) - September 28, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/09/begging-and-poor-in-richard-iii-15921593.html

29. Begging and Poor in The Comedy of Errors (1594) - October 05, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/10/begging-and-poor-in-comedy-of-errors.html

30. Begging & Poor (& Chastity & Pregnancy) in Love's Labour's Lost (1594-1597) - October 12, 2021:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2021/10/begging-poor-chastity-pregnancy-in.html

(Ophelia series) Part 17: Ophelia's "Owl" and "False Steward" Allusions: Why in that order? - October 03, 2023:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2023/10/part-17-ophelias-owl-and-false-steward.html

The Rich Man and Lazarus is a tale of failed hospitality. Also consider that the tale of the appearance of the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus is a story about a successfully seized opportunity to estend hospitality. These are flip sides of the same coin. For the Emmaus series, see this link:
EMMAUS in HAMLET (Introduction: Multi-Part Series) - May 21, 2018:
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2018/05/emmaus-in-hamlet-in-emmaus-story-1.html


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Disclaimer: If and when I quote or paraphrase bible passages or mention religion in many of my blog posts, I do not intend to promote any religion over another, nor am I attempting to promote religious belief in general; only to explore how the Bible and religion influenced Shakespeare, his plays, and his age.
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